Everybody Hurts
by Margot
Summary: Remus semi-POV/songfic. Well, not really a songfic, it's sort of a songfic. Just read the fic x_x PG-13 might be a little strong... for description of blood and cannibalism (sort of).


Everybody Hurts

**Everybody Hurts**  
By [Margot][1] - [cherry@time-stranger.net][2]

**A/N:** -_-' I swore I'd never do a songfic. Ever. Oh well, shows what my word is worth :P I've wanted to write a Lupin semi-POV fic for a while, and here it is... hope it's descriptive enough, and junk :P Btw, the song is by REM (as if you didn't know ^_^)

*

_When the day is long and the night  
The night is yours alone_

One foot in front of the other, Remus quietly thought to himself. Left, then right. Then left again.

In the distance, he could still hear the howling wind rip through the trees of the Forbidden Forest, and the violent thrashing of the Whomping Willow. He had to get away from it as quickly as he could; he could feel, in his bones, that the sun was mere inches away from setting. Still, he struggled to hurry himself to even a slow walk. It took all his strength just to put one foot in front of the other.

Right. Left. Right.

_Everybody hurts  
Take comfort in your friends_

That was it. He could feel his bones begin to tremble. He began sprinting desperately towards the Shrieking Shack. He could feel his run melt into a gallop as his entire body sprouted disgusting, smelly werewolf hair. He struggled to suppress a scream as enormous claws pushed their way out of the tips of his fingers. Sharp, jagged teeth sprang from his gums; his human mouth was too small to accomodate them, but it transformed before his new, canine teeth could cause anything more than deep cuts. All he could think of was the pain, the horrific pain as each atom in his body trembled and shook. He could see drops of blood fly past his eyes as he ran. His paws slammed the ground as he finally bolted through the door into the shack.

The door slammed shut with startling finality. It could only be opened from the outside, unless nimble human fingers could work the complex handles that auto-locked whenever the door closed. The sound of each lock closing itself was like the slamming of a judge's hammer against his bench, sentencing Remus to spend the night as a werewolf.

Guilty.

Guilty.

Guilty.

The wolf Remus turned meekly to face the door, and howled wretchedly. Somewhere, in his human mind, he knew that the children of Hogsmeade were cowering in their beds because of his howling, but his wolfish consciousness had taken over his body now, and it couldn't care less.

The wolf sobbed. In frustration, it attacked a wooden chair nearby, sending splinters of wood in all directions.

Remus screamed. The wolf howled horribly.

_If you're on your own in this life  
The days and nights are long_

Blood... flesh...

The wolf craved for some sort of animal to bite. It needed nourishment soon; its stomach was growling louder than it was. It screamed in anger, in frustration.

The realization quickly dawned on it, that the nearest animal was itself. Despairingly, it began knawing viciously on its own leg. Dark red blood soon poured forth from the wound it had created, and it lapped it up as a dying dog does his last sips of water.

Remus' human mind cried quietly.

_If you think you've had too much of this life  
Well hang on_

The wolf panted, howling piteously every few moments. Its leg wound had ceased to bleed so profusely, but there was a deep stain of blood on the wood floor. Remus' human mind desperately tried to urge it into sleep.

_Hang on  
Don't let yourself go_

The wolf had finally fallen into a restless sleep. Remus watched over it sadly. Each time he was forced to endure this living hell, he would comfort himself by pretending it was the last time. But he knew that it would not be the last time. It would never be the last time.

Remus himself wanted food. His wolfish experiences had exhausted him. Food and sleep were the only thing on his mind, but he struggled to suppress his need for them. If it overwhelmed him, the wolf would wake up and go in search of food again.

He cried to himself, his cries despairing and piteous. The wolf murmured sadly in his sleep.

_When you think you've had too much of this life  
To hang on_

Remus jolted himself awake. He was curled up in a canine ball on the wooden floor of the Shrieking Shack.

His bones had delivered his rude awakening. They had felt the sun rise, and although it was still dark in the Shack, the feeling had manifested itself in Remus' now-human form. Gratefully, he pulled himself to his feet and traipsed, exhausted, over to the door. He struggled absent-mindedly with the many locks and handles, wishing only for food. Upon finally undoing them all, he pushed the door open and travelled the long walk back to the outside. A teacher would be waiting for him there, waiting to accompany him back to the school. Back to humanity.

He walked, nearly dragged, himself up the stone steps back to the Forbidden Forest, careful not to crack his head on the low stone ceiling. He blinked upon reaching the upper ground, temporarily blinded by the brilliant sun. He looked around for a teacher, or Madam Pomfrey, but stopped dead.

_Take comfort in your friends  
If you feel like you're alone  
No no no you are not alone_

His eyes widened. His heart had either started beating so fast he couldn't differentiate between each beat, or it had stopped beating altogether.

Standing only a few feet in front of him were James, Sirius, and Peter.

_Everybody hurts  
Everybody cries  
Everybody hurts sometimes_

   [1]: http://www.cair-paravel.nu/turbonium
   [2]: mailto:cherry@time-stranger.net



End file.
